The invention relates to a protective conductor clamp, comprising a mounting base for mounting it on a support rail and comprising a contact rail that is connected electrically conducting to the mounting base and is provided with a conductor connection.
A protective conductor clamp is disclosed in European Patent EP 0 554 519 B1, where a contact rail provided with conductor connections and arranged inside an insulating housing is connected to a mounting base serving as mechanical and electrical connection to a support rail that functions as protective conductor bus bar. The contact rail and mounting base must be electrically connected to provide an electrical connection between contact rail and support rail. Said electrical connection can be produced through welding, soldering or through a form-fitting and frictional connection, e.g. by wedging it in. If the contact rail and mounting base are to be welded together to ensure a good electrically and mechanically usable connection, then the contact rail and mounting base cannot both be made of copper, since copper cannot be welded to copper. In that case, other material combinations must be selected. In addition, an artificial transition point is created on the clamp as a result of the welding location or the mechanical connection point, which transition point can have a high transition resistance if conditions are unfavorable. This is a disadvantage, particularly with the appearance of high currents caused by short circuits.
The DE 39 03 752 C2 discloses a series terminal, the contact rail and contact base or mounting base of which are formed as one piece of a highly conductive material, so that no artificial transition point with the aforementioned disadvantages exists. The contact base is shaped like a clamp, wherein the contact force of said clamp is provided by a spring clip that fits around the clamp. The contact force of said known series terminal is thus effected by the elastic deformation of the contact base, shaped as a clamp. This necessitates an unsatisfactory design compromise between the mechanical stability of the contact base and the elastic deformability, necessary for making electrical contact.
It is the object of the invention to specify a protective conductor clamp, which can be produced simply and at low cost and does not have the aforementioned disadvantages of previously published prior art.